Malaysia is 46 today. It marks the day when the Federation of Malaysia was formally formed among North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya in 1963.

The declaration was made by Tun Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, our first prime minister who also paved the way for the Independence of Malaya on Aug 31, 1957.

In his Malaysia Day message, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak called on the people to uphold unity among the various race, religions and cultures in the country as to ensure continuous growth and stability for the country.

He also reminded Malaysians to remember and appreciate the sacrifices of past leaders in charting the path that has led the country achieved what it has today.

The government has chosen Bintulu, one of the main contributors to the national economic growth, as the venue for this year Malaysia Day celebration.

However, the opposition Pakatan Rakyat is celebrating it in Kuching with a signing of a 'Kuching Declaration'. Details will be released later today.

A Yemeni student got sexually harassed by the Americans five female students in Arizona

They went to his private apartment near the campus, and take off their clothes, after closing the apartment door to prevent him from escaping but the student opened the bedroom window and jumped to the street.

Essam Sharabi immediately inform the police attended the area and the girls arrested.

After investigation, one of the students acknowledged that they believe that the student in question is suffering from a psychological issues as they asked him to go out with them on dates more than once, but he refused claiming that religious young man and his religion prevents him from exercising any intimate relationships with other than his wife.

And by virtue of the state law prohibits all forms of harassment unless one of the two parties agree to establish a relationship with the other party.- www.liveleak.com

Girls' Generation will release a new Japanese single Oh! on September 2, which includes a remake of their 2010 Korean hit and also an original ballad titled All My Love Is For You. Music videos and a couple of HD concept images (click for full res) below…

Democrats and their sharky Obamedia defense lawyers are in a snit. For three dreamy convention days in Charlotte, they told themselves that, for the first time in decades, it was their guy who had the upper hand when it came to national security. Now that bubble has burst, the way contrived narratives do when they crash into concrete challenges. At that point, an airy president of the world won't do; we need to have a presidentof the United States, a job that has never suited, and has never been of much interest to, Barack Obama.

Defense against foreign enemies is the primary job of the president of the United States. The rationale for the office's creation is national defense — not green venture capitalism, not rationing medical care, not improving the self-image of the "Muslim world," not leaving no child behind, not blowing out the Treasury's credit line. Yet, though we are entering the late innings, foreign policy and national defense have not been factors in the 2012 campaign.That is worth bearing in mind when we hear the laugh-out-loud narrative of Obama as foreign-affairs chess master. The president badly wants to win reelection. If there were anything to his alleged prowess, we'd not have heard the end of it. What we've heard, instead, is a bumper-sticker: "Obama killed Osama." The Left hoped to paste it over the president's generally dreary record. Even with the Obamedia in coordinated overdrive, the plan can work only if Mitt Romney lets it work — and, thankfully, it looks like he won't.Give the president his due: In 2008, he said he would go hard against terrorist havens, no matter how upset this made John McCain's cherished "allies" in Pakistan, and he has. But even the welcome slamming of jihadist redoubts is undermined by the mess Obama has made of terrorist detention — so our forces kill in situations where they could capture, drying up the intelligence reservoir that has been vital to thwarting new cells and plots.Moreover, any president would have given the order to take bin Laden out, and just about any post-9/11 president would bomb jihadist hideouts. What's extraordinary about Obama's performance in this regard is that he's one you might have wondered about — he gets graded on a curve. But, thankful as we may be, this is thin camouflage for the rest of Obama's agenda, which is post-American, anti-constitutional, enabling of the ideology that spawns terrorism, faithless toward our real allies, and feckless in the face of menacing Iran.The game never goes according to plan. The batted ball always manages to find the suspect fielder, no matter how hard the coach, or the campaign, tries to hide him. On the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities, the world and its affairs found the Obama administration — intruding on the president's effort to win reelection by a brand of domestic class warfare that gives new meaning to the word "small."When it came, Obama's moment was entirely predictable. It was, after all, self-inflicted: the inevitable fallout of policy crafted by the faculty-lounge pinhead, whose ideas are so saccharine smug there's never a thought of anything so jejune as their consequences. Obama being Obama, when the consequences came, he crawled under his desk — before escaping to a Vegas fundraiser.

"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims." So declared the Obama State Department in a statement issued on the website of its Egyptian embassy. At the time, it was clear that another episode of Muslim mayhem was imminent.The statement is a disgrace, just as Mitt Romney said it was. It elevated over the U.S. Constitution (you know, the thing Obama took an oath to "preserve, protect, and defend") the claimed right of sharia supremacists (you know, "Religion of Peace" adherents) to riot over nonsense. Further, it dignified the ludicrous pretext that an obscure, moronic 14-minute video was the actual reason for the oncoming jihad.Here is the important part, however, the part not to be missed, no matter how determined the president's media shysters are to cover it up: The disgraceful embassy statement was a completely accurate articulation of longstanding Obama policy.

So, on a highly symbolic date, mobs storm American diplomatic facilities and drag the corpse of a U.S. ambassador through the streets. Then the president flies to Vegas for a fundraiser. No, no, a novelist would say; that's too pat, too neat in its symbolic contrast. Make it Cleveland, or Des Moines.

The president is surrounded by delirious fanbois and fangurls screaming "We love you," too drunk on his celebrity to understand this is the first photo-op in the aftermath of a national humiliation. No, no, a filmmaker would say; too crass, too blunt. Make them sober, middle-aged midwesterners, shocked at first, but then quiet and respectful.The president is too lazy and cocksure to have learned any prepared remarks or mastered the appropriate tone, notwithstanding that a government that spends more money than any government in the history of the planet has ever spent can surely provide him with both a speechwriting team and a quiet corner on his private wide-bodied jet to consider what might be fitting for the occasion. So instead he sloughs off the words, bloodless and unfelt: "And obviously our hearts are broken . . . " Yeah, it's totally obvious.And he's even more drunk on his celebrity than the fanbois, so in his slapdashery he winds up comparing the sacrifice of a diplomat lynched by a pack of savages with the enthusiasm of his own campaign bobbysoxers. No, no, says the Broadway director; that's too crude, too ham-fisted. How about the crowd is cheering and distracted, but he's the president, he understands the gravity of the hour, and he's the greatest orator of his generation, so he's thought about what he's going to say, and it takes a few moments but his words are so moving that they still the cheers of the fanbois, and at the end there's complete silence and a few muffled sobs, and even in party-town they understand the sacrifice and loss of their compatriots on the other side of the world.But no, that would be an utterly fantastical America. In the real America, the president is too busy to attend the security briefing on the morning after a national debacle, but he does have time to do Letterman and appear on a hip-hop radio show hosted by "The Pimp with a Limp." In the real State Department, the U.S. embassy in Cairo is guarded by Marines with no ammunition, but they do enjoy the soft-power muscle of a Foreign Service officer, one Lloyd Schwartz, tweeting frenziedly into cyberspace (including a whole chain directed at my own Twitter handle, for some reason) about how America deplores insensitive people who are so insensitively insensitive that they don't respectfully respect all religions equally respectfully and sensitively, even as the raging mob is pouring through the gates.When it comes to a flailing, blundering superpower, I am generally wary of ascribing to malevolence what is more often sheer stupidity and incompetence. For example, we're told that, because the consulate in Benghazi was designated as an "interim facility," it did not warrant the level of security and protection that, say, an embassy in Scandinavia would have. This seems all too plausible — that security decisions are made not by individual human judgment but according to whichever rule-book sub-clause at the Federal Agency of Bureaucratic Facilities Regulation it happens to fall under. However, the very next day in Yemen, which is a permanent facility, was also overrun, as was the embassy in Tunisia the day after. Look, these are tough crowds, as the president might say at Caesar's Palace. But we spend more money on these joints than anybody else, and they're as easy to overrun as the Belgian consulate.As I say, I'm inclined to be generous, and put some of this down to the natural torpor and ineptitude of government. But Hillary Clinton and General Martin Dempsey are guilty of something worse, in the secretary of state's weirdly obsessive remarks about an obscure film supposedly disrespectful of Mohammed and the chairman of the joint chiefs' telephone call to a private citizen asking him if he could please ease up on the old Islamophobia.Forget the free-speech arguments. In this case, as Secretary Clinton and General Dempsey well know, the film has even less to do with anything than did the Danish cartoons or the schoolteacher's teddy bear or any of the other innumerable grievances of Islam. The 400-strong assault force in Benghazi showed up with RPGs and mortars: That's not a spontaneous movie protest; that's an act of war, and better planned and executed than the dying superpower's response to it. Secretary Clinton and General Dempsey are, to put it mildly, misleading the American people when they suggest otherwise.

One can understand why they might do this, given the fiasco in Libya. The men who organized this attack knew the ambassador would be at the consulate in Benghazi rather than at the embassy in Tripoli. How did that happen? They knew when he had been moved from the consulate to a "safe house," and switched their attentions accordingly. How did that happen? The United States government lost track of its ambassador for ten hours. How did that happen? Perhaps, when they've investigated Mitt Romney's press release for another three or four weeks, the court eunuchs of the American media might like to look into some of these fascinating questions, instead of leaving the only interesting reporting on an American story to the foreign press. Mark Steyn in The National Review

Interview with the assault victim, who was attacked for assisting the Malaysian Relief Agency (MRA) Interviewed by Kay Te Zat O

MRA group leader, executive Director Mr. Said Shahrulazilan explaining the programme of humanitarian aids to the refugees at the Aung Mingalar Masjid in Sittwe, Rakhine, with the help of the translator Ko Shine. (The person on the left side, seen partially, is the assault victim Ko Shine.)

A. I arrived on last Friday (7.9.2012). We were together on the same flight with the Commission Members (Investigation team appointed by the President).

Q. Brother, are you the only Myanmar citizen in your organization?

A. Yes, correct. I went there as the Country Coordinator of the Malaysian Relief Agency.

Q. Any untoward incidents on arrival, brother ?

A. Just normal without any incidences at that time.

Q. Where did your organization stay? Which hotel or rest house?

A. We stayed at the "Shwe Thazin" rest house.

Q. If no problem on arrival, any hostilities at the refugee camps where you distributed the aids, especially at the Rakhine camps?

A. There was no aggression encountered when going there as we were always accompanied by Rakhine RND members.

When I went there first time for shopping, spending about Kyat 7 million, we donated Kyat 35000.00 to each household from 100 families each from both sides, Rakhines and Muslims.

Yesterday, we bought the goods again for Kyat 17 million.

Q. Was that at the same market?

A. Yes, correct.

Q. What is the name of that market, brother?

A. (That is) Sittwee Central Market. When we went there for shopping, foreigners also accompanied me all the time. Yesterday, foreigners were following me but when they left for food, RNDP Township Deputy Chairman, one RNDP Township EC member and I continue to buy the necessary things, carried, gathered and compiled at the agreed "Point."

As we bought six items, we ordered the workers to send all the bought items to that gathering point. Some of the workers were loading the goods on to the cars. I was suddenly attacked while the foreigners were absent.

Q. Was that attack pre-planned or just an accidental encounter?

A. No, not like that brother, not an accidental attack but they intentionally or directly came to me. They came with the motor bike straight to me. Just before that we could not easily rent a car.

Our goods were also in quite big amount. Kyat 17 million worth goods were actually a lot. Chilli powder and some other goods are quite bulky and there were a lot of things. But as the RNDP Township Deputy Chairman was with us, we never thought there would be any problem for us.

Q. How many attackers came on motor bikes?

A. Those came on Motor bikes were two persons only. They came directly to me and the back passenger (pillion rider) asked me in Rakhine language. I replied that I could not understand the Rakhine language.

The RNDP Township Deputy Chairman told them, "He was not a local, not a KALAR (derogatory words the Rakhine and Myanmars used to call Muslims/Bangalis/Rohingya/Indians etc. Similar to the word, "Keling" in Malay and like Niggar). He came from Burma (meant the mainland Myanmar) from Yangon. He is the translator for the Aid mission from Malaysia. He is the Myanmar representative of those donors".

They ignored those explanations and asked me rudely from where I came and accused me that I were a Kalar and told me not to bluff.

Q. Were they asking in Myanmar language?

A. Yes, they were asking in Myanmar language as I had already told them that I could not understand Rakhine language.

Q. But were they talking in the Rakhine slang?

A. Yes, when they enquired whether I was a Kalar, I explained calmly and thoroughly that I was not a local from Rakhine state but came from Yangon. The RNDP Township Deputy Chairman even told them that the donor group was from the Office of the Malaysian PM and they were working together with RNDP.

He further explained, "This group is giving to the both sides. Given aids on the previous day at Shwe Zeti and other places, now buying to send to the Min Kan and Danyawady. Now these are for our Rakhines."

That man did not listen to those explanations and said, "Anyway, you do not need to bring in this Kalar at all. Malaysians are also Kalars. (He wrongly said that all the Muslims were Kalars/Indians.) In any case, the Kalars are not allowed to step on our soil."

Then he started to punch me.

The Motorcyclist also came down and boxed me from another side.

I told them again, "You all would be wrong. I am not like (the person) you thought, please don't do (don't assault me), you are comitting a mistake…"

But they refused to accept my explanations.

Suddenly, one old man nearby came near me and forcefully poked my chest with the sharp end of his pointed (steel) umbrella.

Q. When they all assaulted brother, did you fell down?

A. No, I did not fell down at that time. I tried to use the RNDP Township Deputy Chairman as a cover for me and tried to avoid their attacks. At last the passenger of the motor-bike pushed him away and started to hit me.

During the commotion, a big group of people surrounded me. I fell down only when the group suddenly grew much bigger, pulled me to the four roads' junction and assaulted me.

When I fell down…..

MRA team, happily with the Rakhine children. (The one on the right-back with yellow shirt is Ko Shine, the victim of violent terrorists)

MRA Task Force met with the Chief Buddhist Monk in Sitwee to get the true picture of the ethnic conflict in Arakan and assistance needed by the victims of this conflict.

Ko Shine is seen discussing basically and objectively for peace with a Rakhine Nationalist youth.

File photo of people checking their status at a polling booth in Kuching in last year's Sarawak state elections.

With 13 million registered voters to date, the Election Commission (EC) now faces increasing pressure to clean up the electoral roll and conduct separate polls for areas under both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The Selangor PR government has openly declared it will not hold state elections when the federal BN calls them unless the EC is able to show the gazetted electoral roll to be used in GE13 has been cleared of dubious entries.

In its latest electoral statistics gazetted last August 16 made available to The Malaysian Insider, the EC recorded the number of registered voters as 13,052,374 people, out of whom 12,778,127 fall into the category of ordinary voters while 274,247 are recorded as absent voters. The latter group encompasses the armed forces, the police and overseas voters.

Selangor recorded the largest number of overseas voters, currently standing at 579 people, while the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur has the highest number of absent voters with 40,543 people. This is followed by Perak with 38,367 voters and Johor a distant third with 25,058 voters.

Kuala Lumpur FT also has the highest number of absent voters from within the ranks of the armed forces, totalling 24,979 people, while Selangor has the largest number of absent voters from within the police force, with 16,525 people.

The electoral law provides for absent voters to cast their ballots through the post even if the person is stationed within the voting constituency. This lack of transparency in the voting process has led to various allegations of gerrymandering and tampering with the ballot papers.

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke has urged the EC to speed up cleaning its voter registry.

In the last general election in 2008, the ruling BN coalition succeeded in grabbing only one out of 11 parliamentary seats in the Kuala Lumpur FT, namely Setiawangsa. The DAP won five, PKR scored four and PAS took the remaining one — leading to the most successful partnership among the three opposition parties in the last decade.

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke has urged the EC to speed up cleaning its voter registry, saying the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform had stated that it would only take four months to do so.

"It has been four months since the report was out but we are still receiving complaints, that's why we want the EC to speed up the cleaning process.

"We urge the EC to show commitment in this cleaning process, and will continue to press them to update the data or explain this issue," said Loke, who is both a federal and state lawmaker in Negri Sembilan.

He said cleaning the electoral roll was still being carried out and the Malaysian Microelectronic System Institute (MIMOS) had found dubious voter names in the roll."In the parliamentary report, MIMOS found there were 324 addresses registered with more than 100 voters, and 938 addresses with more than 51 to 100 voters.

"The overall voters were more than 100,000," he said.

However, the deputy chairman of the EC, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, has made it known that he disagrees with Selangor's suggestion of separate poll dates for the state election.

The Talam Corporation issue is now a bone of contention. And it is not surprising as the name 'Talam' itself can be said to be controversial, in the Cantonese dialect, that is.For 'Talam accented properly and translated literally in Cantonese is 'hit-collapse'. But used in a sentence it means to defeat one's rivals, for example: "We will 'ta-lum' all our rivals in the competition."

BN and especially MCA, most notably Labis MP, Chua Tee Yong, has been using the Talam Corporation issue to 'ta-lum' the Selangor state government helmed by Pakatan Rakyat.So far, the Pakatan Selangor state government is holding up well. Although much time and energy has been expended to clarify matters, the state government's explanations rarely get highlighted in the mainstream media in a prominent manner.

Of course, Chua does not have the level to debate with Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. Thus the debate arranged by MCA on Sept 12, knowing that Khalid will be away, is a cheap publicity stunt in order for MCA to do damage control as the sudden emergence of the Tan Koon Swan saga will surely greatly damage MCA.

It is impossible for MCA not to know that Khalid will be away on that particular day. This is therefore an MCA stunt to claw back popularity from the Chinese who are increasingly losing respect for this party who only voices out on selective issues.

Most conspicuously missing is the MCA voice in the Jalan Sultan-Save The Heritage issue where the property owners are unhappy with the MRT tunnelling beneath their properties. The property owners' contention is that the MRT can tunnel beneath Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (formerly Foch Avenue) in front of Kota Raya, Kuala Lumpur.

According to Shah Alam PAS MP, Khalid Samad, MCA does not know all the facts and figures. Said Khalid Samad: "KPMG which audited the Selangor state government's handling of the Talam matter is very well-known, established and professional auditor and it has cleared the Selangor state government of any wrong-doing."

"The Selangor government has recovered all its loans and got back the lands. The state government has profited from the whole venture and the auditors even praised the Selangor government's professionalism in this matter," he added.BN's weaponsTill to-date the water and Talam issues are BN's weapons to hit out at the Selangor government in order to cause its collapse. But it is MCA which is going to get hit and collapse before the 13th general election as MCA has almost lost all credibility among the Chinese voters. Only BN's cronies support MCA now.

BN has never sat still since it lost Selangor in the previous general election. It has continuously tried every trick in the book to recapture Selangor by hook or by crook. This is not surprising as Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is the head of Selangor Umno. Previously he was the head of Perak Umno and we know what happened there.

Many people are now getting very tired and fed up with the intense and non-stop political activity since March 2008.

It is BN which is responsible for this as it controls all the public institutions, the mainstream media and the government machinery which it enjoys using at the expense of the rakyat. Pakatan has no choice but to respond to BN's attacks and it is this factor that contributed to the intense politicking.

BN leaders seem to ignore the fact that their politicking does not augur well for the investment climate. The Felda shares have suddenly dropped to below the psychological benchmark of RM5 and this is not a healthy sign.

The BN federal government keeps harping on the inflow figure but forgets to inform the citizens of the outflow figure and this shows that the government is adept at being economic on the truth.

With so much hidden under the carpet, we will not be able to know the truth concerning the nation's economic health until an implosion occurs. By then, it will already be too late.The BN federal government cannot hold on much longer. After winning the 13th general election, it will surely increase the price of RON95 by leaps and bounds as had happened after the March 2008 general election. The goods and services tax (GST) will then be introduced and this will certainly burden the poor and the low-wage earner.

The situation in Malaysia is dire. But the incumbent government is telling the rakyat: "Everything is fine. You are in good hands. The economy is robust and thriving. BN has a proven track record unlike Pakatan Rakyat."

Proven track record aside, we need to see how the government is going to curb expenditure in the 2013 Budget which will be tabled on Sept 28. By right the Auditor-General's Report should also be tabled on the same day.

But last year, the budget was tabled on Oct 7 and the Auditor-General's Report was only tabled on Oct 24, which was 17 days late. This is against parliamentary procedure. Let us see whether the same bad practice will again be adopted this year. By the way, the budget will of course be passed because the opposition MPs are outnumbered.

Waythamoorthy has a fruitful meeting with spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and it could pave way for strong electoral ties between Pakatan and Hindraf

PAS has assured Hindraf Makkal Sakti that marginalised ethnic Malaysian Indians would have a better future if Pakatan Rakyat captures Putrajaya in the next election.PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat assured that "things would be different under Pakatan" to Hindraf supremo P Waythamoorthy during a meeting on Thursday morning.Hindraf national coordinator W Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy had explained to Nik Aziz of the human rights violations against the Indian community under Umno's misrule.He said Waythamoorthy told the PAS leader how most working class Indians have been excluded and isolated from the country's mainstream development since independence."Tuan Guru Nik Aziz listened attentively on the plight of marginalised Indians raised by Waythamoorthy."The Menteri Besar was symphatetic and assured us that under Pakatan rule things would be different," said Sambulingam.The private meeting between Nik Aziz and Waythamoorthy was held at the Kelantan Menteri Besar's home.As Nik Aziz was not feeling well, the meeting, originally scheduled at the Menteri Besar's office, was moved to the PAS leader's home.Waythamoorthy also held a separate meeting with PAS vice president and Kelantan executive councillor Husam Musa in his Kota Bahru office the same day.PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu was present.Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy and the PAS leaders held discussions on forging electoral ties between Hindraf and Pakatan to face Barisan Nasional.Win-win partnershipWaythamoorthy also assured Husam and Mat Sabu that Hindraf was willing to deploy its members as elections volunteers for Pakatan in Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan."Waythamoorthy reiterated Hindraf's commitment to help Pakatan on the understanding that there should be a strategic win-win partnership between the parties," said Sambulingam.Waythamoorthy has also briefed both leaders on the displacement of about 800,000 estate workers since the 70s due to the country's unscrupulous urbanisation programme.Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy told them that these estate workers were systematically excluded from the government's mainstream socio-economic master plan for decades.He added that the PAS leaders were enlightened on how estate workers were denied land, house and cash compensations and even job opportunities."Waythamoorthy explained how estate workers were relegated from a vibrant pool of human resources to forgotten urban poor," said Sambulingam.The Hindraf chair also highlighted the plight of about 350,000 stateless Indians, who were denied proper jobs or education, own properties and even get their marriages registered.Both the meetings were facilitated by Mat Sabu.Waythamoorthy, who returned to Malaysia on Aug 1 after a five-year self-imposed stay in London, also met DAP national chairman Karpal Singh in Penang on Aug 12.Waythamoorthy thanked Karpal for his support and legal assistance to the Hindraf activists who were detained without trial under the now repealed Internal Security Act.The meeting between Waythamoorthy, a leading Indian rights activist and Muslim leaders from PAS could pave way for a strong electoral ties between Pakatan and Hindraf.

If it happens, Hindraf could help sway lost Indian votes from BN, boosting Pakatan chances to capture federal powers in next election.

In the Malay language, this is known as "nyanyuk"! This is aptly applied to people of age who talks nonsense and without sense !

VERY WELL WRITTEN AND MUST BE READ BY ALL MALAYSIAN WHO INDEED WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR TUN !

Is the Tun Hallucinating

In an open letter to Mahathir, P Ramakrishnan takes to task the former premier for his outrageous statements about the Pakatan administrations in Penang and Selangor of late. My dear Tun Dr Mahathir,I'm at a loss as to whether you are hallucinating or failing to see the reality. Your views on Penang and Selangor are misconceived and misplaced. You come across as a dishonest politician determined to score political points and mislead Malaysian voters. You do no credit to yourself nor do you live up to your reputation as an elder statesman (Bernama, 29 January 2012). Your statement, "They have already been given a lot of chances. A lot of unhappy things have happened in Penang, the same (is happening) in Selangor," does not make any sense at all. "They have been given a lot of chances", you unreasonably claim.

Pakatan only came to power on March 8, 2008. They have been in office only for four short years. What chances were given to them and who gave them those chances? What are you talking about? What miracles were you expecting them to perform in this short period of time? Compare their short term of office to the Barisan Nasional's nearly 55 years of tenure – truthfully and honestly. (22 years of which were under Dr.M, the longest PM in Malaysia who could have done so much more!). We can justifiably throw back at the BN the very words you had uttered: "They (BN) have already been given a lot of chances. A lot of unhappy things have happened in Penang, the same (is happening) in Selangor." This is indeed a valid observation requiring an honest answer from you, dear Tun.

Indeed, 55 years is a very long time. It is more than half a century. The BN have been given all the chances it wanted and needed. But what have the BN achieved during their long tenure in office except undermining our unity and keeping the people apart? Our unity has been destroyed by senseless and thoughtless policies and statements without a care for the welfare of the majority of Malaysians who are peace-loving and poor.Yes, Tun, if anybody had been given too much chance it is the BN. Indeed, what more can the BN do which they had failed to do during these 55 years? What miracles can the BN now perform to transform this country into a haven for all citizens and provide them with a dignified livelihood? What do you actually mean by claiming, "They have been given the chance. What's there left to try. If we allow the situation to deteriorate badly, it will be difficult to repair." Your rambling statement, "If we allow the situation to deteriorate badly, it will be difficult to repair" comes across as ridiculous and garrulous. What has the Pakatan done that has brought about the deterioration? What is that they are doing that would render the problem beyond repair? Please be specific and enumerate the wrongdoings of the Pakatan. Tun, you should not make sweeping claims that are without merit. Many Malaysians are truly disappointed and disillusioned with you and justifiably feel that you have out-lived your usefulness as a political leader.You had your time and you did things the way you wanted to. That period is over and done with. There is nothing more for you to do.

Both Penang and Selangor have attracted the biggest FDI totalling more than RM15bn, which is unmatched by the BN-controlled states. Doesn't this indicate positively that the Pakatan-controlled states are performing very much better in spite of their short term of tenure and lack of administrative experience and expertise? Honestly, dear Tun, doesn't that deserve some praise? You kept everything under wraps and resorted to the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to deny citizens their right to be informed.A lot of scandals and corruption prevailed because they are kept from the purview of public scrutiny and guarded as state secrets. The Pakatan-controlled states in Selangor and Penang, on the other hand, have promulgated a Freedom of Information Act in order to be transparent and accountable. Tun, isn't this something that has to be complimented? Cronies and corruptionUnder your tenure for 22 years, many crony politicians became wealthy beyond imagination and without being accountable for their wealth. Elected representatives and cabinet ministers declared their assets only to you and, according to certain well-informed circles, you had used this information to secure their unquestioning loyalty. That was how you had your way – it was your way and no other way! We are reminded of the episode concerning the removal of Osman Aroff, the then Menteri Besar of Kedah, who had enjoyed the support of the majority of assembly members in Kedah. These assembly members went to see you, dear Tun, to plead for the retention of their MB. You, reportedly saw them individually and after that they all returned to Kedah abandoning Osman Aroff. Rumour had it then that you had a file on each of them and that forced them to fall in line behind you. Dear Tun, Pakatan-controlled states of Selangor and Penang did something that you wouldn't dare dream of doing. All their Exco members declared their assets publically. This is something that civil society of Malaysia has been campaigning for, for a very long time, claiming that this would curb corruption and check abuse of governance.

But you would not be persuaded. You wanted to be the sole privy to the corruption and abuse so that you would have absolute control over politicians holding public positions.

Many Malaysians, in the past, have worked loyally and faithfully and had contributed to the progress of this country. These old timers who retired many years ago are forced to struggle to live a hard life with their meagre pensions in these times of hardships. Their counterparts of modern times, on the other hand, draw reasonable pensions to lead a decent life. The hardships suffered by these senior citizens have not been addressed. Their contributions were not even acknowledged.

But the Pakatan government in Penang has been giving out RM100 once a year for the last three years to express their appreciation to these senior citizens. Admittedly, this isn't very much but the very thought of appreciation really warms the hearts of these people. With the vast resources available to the BN, they are placed in a far better situation to do more to help these unfortunate people. But why, dear Tun, did the BN government not bother doing this? They could have shown a generous face and given more to these people with all the wealth at their disposal. But they did nothing! Corruption has become so rampant that so much of our wealth is either lost or stolen to the detriment of the nation. Contracts given to crony companies with inflated costs have drained our wealth.Highway toll agreements, the Tajuddin-Malaysia Airlines out-of-court settlement, the rescue of Bank Rakyat and Bank Bumiputra, the reckless forex fiasco in the UK, the bungling Maminco tin-buying spree, to name a few – they have all resulted in the loss of billions of ringgit that could have alleviated the plight of the poor. These are, unfortunately, dear Tun, your legacies that brought terrible hardships for the homeless and the helpless. Uplifting the peopleYou wouldn't have open tenders for projects that would have saved billions of ringgit and secured the services of contractors with ability and proven expertise. That would have prevented some contractors from running away without completing their projects and ensured that buildings wouldn't collapse because of poor workmanship and inferior materials. But repeated episodes of cheating contractors and uncompleted projects did not seem to disturb the conscience of those in charge. It was business as usual and billions of ringgit were regularly squandered without a care in the world. On the other hand, now we have open tenders in the Pakatan states and Class F contractors are very happy and contented with this arrangement. According to these contractors, under the previous BN government, one had to have connections to get a contract and one had to give inducements to be considered favourably. Otherwise, getting contracts would have been impossible. But now, with open tenders, the deserving have been rewarded with contracts and they have delivered the completed projects on time. Isn't this something that has to be appreciated, dear Tun? Malaysian workers have been struggling for years for a minimum wage policy. The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has been championing this issue for decades. But it was opposed vehemently by the Malaysian Employers Federation, which wanted to reap hefty profits from the sweat of the workers. And the Malaysian government did not have the political will to implement the minimum wage policy. Thus we lost our local skilled workers and builders who left the country to work elsewhere. But the exploitation continues to this day with the employment of foreign workers.

Isn't it praiseworthy that the Pakatan government in Selangor has implemented a minimum wage policy for all its employees in GLCs as from January this year? They are paid a minimum salary of RM1,500. Shouldn't the employees enjoy the fruit of their labour, dear Tun? Farmers in the new villages of Perak who have been tilling the land and growing vegetables and fruit for the country for generations were exploited and kept in a state of uncertainty as to their livelihood as they did not own the land. Every election this became a moot point for the farmers. Whether their TOL would be extended or cancelled was a worrying experience for these farmers. And when the BN wins the election in Perak, the TOL of these farmers would be renewed. The message was very clear. Vote for the BN or your TOL would not be renewed. They were beholden to the BN for the extension of their TOL. The Pakatan government gave them the land titles and their dignity and freed them from their unnecessary anxiety. The rational was these farmers have been on the land for generations and have been serving the nation with their produce and they deserved the land titles. Isn't this something wonderful that deserves to be congratulated, dear Tun?Every voter who dies in Penang and Selangor is given RM1,000 and RM2,500 respectively for funeral expenses. This assistance is greatly appreciated, especially by the poor. For the first time a voter receives something very specific and substantial when he or she dies. This had never happened under BN rule. They bribe the living for their vote and forget them when they are dead. Under the Pakatan rule they take care of the living and the dead! Don't they deserve a pat on their back, dear Tun? All this caring and giving must make a great impact on the people. If given more time there will be other good policies that will benefit the people and perhaps make it difficult for the BN to make any headway in the future. Is that what is worrying you, dear Tun? Is this what you meant when you sounded the warning to the BN, "If we allow the situation to deteriorate, it will be difficult to repair"?

You have correctly foreseen the inevitable doom for the BN. You have realised that it will be difficult to undo the good deeds of the Pakatan. In comparison, the BN will be cast in poor light and cursed for neglecting the majority of the deserving Malaysians who are poor. You are seeing what is impending and you have the right to fear the inevitable, dear Tun!

P Ramakrishnan is an Aliran executive committee member.

The writer of this article was a former teacher from Penang. During the "hey days" of the NUT, he was the Chairman of NUT Penang and an executive member of NUT Malaysia for many years. He still is an eloquent speaker.

He is a founder member of Aliran and served as its President for many years. In later years he gave up the Presidency of Aliran and is currently an Ex-Co member of that organisation. I am proud to be a friend of this great and brave gentleman!

We read of violent emotional clashes, deaths and casualties where the anger is seething to the boiling level.What caused such a massive backlash?An American movie that has insulted our Rasulullah SAW?If this is true, are we to just mind our own business and let the extremists go beserk?

I am definitely not a warak Muslim let alone one who would die to defend the religion.Lacking dreadfully in my iman, I am not willing to battle it out.Unless I know I will die as a matyr, count me out.Astaghfirullahhal'azeem..

However, if it is true that our beloved Nabi Mohammad SAW has been blemished shamefully, those involved in making that bloody idiotic bastard rascal moronic movie must be hounded, arrested, taken to court and sentenced harshly.

Obama must teach them a lesson as a deterrent to others.The unnecessary untold damage to innocent lives are unforgiveable and extremely sad.Where's the brain?Bottom line, you just don't make a movie that debase and humiliate another religion.To comment a bit on any religious belief is a human norm.To the extent of 'menghina' via acting it out in a movie..that is madness and insane!

May Allah SWT have mercy on all of us.We just want a safe journey to Syurga on Judgement Day.Ya Allah, forgive our barnacles of sins and our obviously unending weaknesses.Bestow on us the mental strength to bear the horrifying ridicule others have quaintly laid on our beloved Rasulullah SAW..Ameen.